Hornell Mayor Gives State of the City Address

Hornell, NY – Hornell Mayor John Buckley gave his assessment on the state of the city Monday night and for the most part is was very positive.

“The state of our city is very strong,” said the Mayor, “Businesses are flourishing, affordable housing is keeping up with demand, infrastructure on our sewers and streets has been a priority, and vacant or zombie properties has drastically declined while I have been in office. I am proud to say that Hornell is one of the top ten most affordable cities to live in in New York.”

The Mayor noted that programs such as employee of the month and citizen of the month have gotten the community and city employees involved, rewarding all creating a better place to live.

Buckley said he still has challenges, “I still and always will consider the drug epidemic a number one priority to tackle while I am Mayor, and thanks to the efforts of Police Chief Ted Murray and our Police Dept., we have made great strides in that aspect. We also are constantly facing balancing a budget with less revenue coming in and expenditures increasing, and also keeping up with all the unfunded mandates Albany constantly throws at us. I am confident we can work through this and continue to grow.”

He continued, “My main goal is to improve the quality of life for all our residents, and that will remain as long as I am in office. I am very confident we are headed in the right direction.”